What You Mean to Me
by Meg0613
Summary: A conversation with his mother gets Barba thinking. (Based on the Brett Eldredge song Mean to Me)


What You Mean to Me

A/N I got to see Brett Eldredge in concert the other night and this song instantly painted a Barson scene in my head, if you've never heard it go give it a listen!

 _If mine could be the name that changes yours_

 _The wine in your glass_

 _The swing on your porch_

 _The dollar in your pocket_

 _And the peaceful in your sleep_

 _Then I'd be what you mean to me_

 _Standing here_

 _Watching you_

 _Turning every head in this crowded room_

 _The lights down low_

 _Dancin slow_

 _Oh, if falling's how you feel_

 _And perfect is what you see_

 _Then I'd be what you mean to me_

 _What you mean to me_

 _Brett Eldredge_

He discreetly looked up from his conversation with the deputy mayor, scanning the ballroom for any sight of her, there was none. He had been here for over an hour and there was still no sight of her. He had asked her at the last minute and she had been non comital that had been how things had been between them the last few weeks. He never knew if his invitation for a drink would be accepted or not. When they were together everything was great between them, so he did not understand what was going on. She had assured him she wasn't upset or even disenchanted with him, but Rafael could tell something was off. As he pretended to listen to the conversation around him his mind wondered.

 _He had been getting ready for tonight when his phone rang, he had hoped it was her calling to say she was going and asking if they could ride together. He sighed when he saw his mother's name displayed._

" _Hola Mami." He answered and there was no missing the disappointment in his voice._

" _Hoping for someone else Hijo? Olivia perhaps?" Lucia asked._

" _Well, we were both invited to this reception tonight with some people from the Mayor's office and I asked her yesterday if she wanted to go together, and she didn't really give me an answer." He explained._

" _Rafi, how long have you known about this event?" She pressed._

" _I don't know, a few weeks, maybe a month." He told her as he finished straightening the tie on his tuxedo._

" _Rafi, you have known about this event for a month and you just asked her yesterday?" She confirmed in disbelief._

" _Well she had her own invitation, I just kind of assumed we would go together." He explained growing impatient,_

" _Rafi, women don't like to be asked at the last minute, they want to know you want to be with them." Lucia groaned. "You should try actually asking her to dinner sometime."_

" _Mami, it's not like that." He said firmly,_

" _Well then what is it like, HIjo. What does Liv mean to you? Does she know? Do you know?" She pressed further._

" _I have to go Mami, I will call you this weekend." He told her not wanting to hear anymore, but her words kept rolling around in his head throughout the evening._

As he made his way thought the reception his mind was on him mother's question. What did Olivia mean to him? She was his work partner, she was his best friend, he admired her more than anyone else. Was that all? Is that the reason he asked her for drinks or picked up her favorite coffee on the way to the precinct? Is that why he had wanted to come here with her tonight? Was there something more?

He looked up again from his conversation when he heard a door close, when he saw her he almost dropped his glass of scotch. There she was in a strapless dark purple dress that swept the floor, her hair was curled and falling around her shoulders, she was breathtaking. He excused himself from his conversation and attempted to cross the room to her but was stopped by a group of people. When he finally managed to get away he watched as she was swept away to talk with someone.

This continued all evening and he would watch her out of the corner of his eye. The way she made her way around the room, putting everyone around her at ease. The way she gave the same attention to the waitress as she did the Deputy Mayor. Everyone in the room wanted to talk to her at one point they caught each other's eyes from across the room she smiled at him and did her best to wave discreetly. He tried again to make his way to her but was stopped by a hand on the shoulder, it was the mayor.

IF it had been anyone else Barba would have found a way out of the conversation, but a chance to speak directly with the mayor was not something he could just walk away from. He asked Barba about his latest conviction and how that might affect future cases, Barba could not deny that he was flattered that the mayor had followed that case, he had been especially proud of the wok that he and Liv had done on it. He looked around the room to see where she was, eager to tell her.

"Am I keeping you from someone Counselor?" The Mayor asked him.

"No Sir, of course not. I just wanted to let Lieutenant Benson know what you thought of the case, a lot of the credit goes to her." Barba covered quickly.

"Oh yes, Lieutenant Benson, I've heard how well you two work together." The Mayor smiled, "Well I won't keep you." He said patting him on the shoulder.

Barba scanned the room but he was unable to find her anywhere. He made his way to a group of people that he had seen her speaking to earlier.

"Excuse me, have you seen Lieutenant Benson?" He asked.

'I think she left.' One of the women answered him.

Barba's heart began to race as he looked desperately around the room before running to the door. He sotted her at the bottom of the steps getting ready to get into a car.

"Liv! Liv! Liv!" He called out running down the stairs.

She turned back to him and smiled closing the door to the car. He met her at the bottom and stopped before her taking her hands in his. She looked at him with some confusion.

"Do you know what you meant to me?" He asked her breathlessly.

"What?" She asked him with a nervous laugh.

'Do you know what you mean to me?" He asked again his green eyes staring into her deep brown ones.

She shook her head a little, "I'm not sure." She said softly.

"You mean everything to me, absolutely everything. I cannot imagine my life without you, I don't want to ever imagine my life without you. You aren't just someone I work with or my best friend, I am helplessly in love with you." He told her moving his hands to her face.

Olivia blinked a few times taking his words in, "I love you too Rafael, and I don't want to imagine my life without you either."

He pulled her face towards his looking into her eyes before pressing his lips against hers, kissing her until he heard the car driver speak up.

"You two going to need a ride still?" He asked a chuckle in his voice.

"Would you like to have dinner with me Olivia?" Rafael asked her.

Olivia smiled at him kissing again, "I thought you would never ask." She answered with a smile.

They found a small Indian restaurant where they sat together in a booth in the back holding hands and sneaking kisses like a couple of teenagers, both wondering why they had waited so long to say something.

"What made you say something tonight?" Olivia asked him.

Rafael laughed, "Let's just say I am going to owe my mother for a long time."

The End


End file.
